Sep
02
Posted under
Flower bulb care
Flower bulbs need a good, long, winters sleep. Like some people we know, if they wake up before they are fully rested they get kind of cranky, and then they dont bloom well at all.
Actually what happens is during a mild winter, the soil stays too warm and the bulbs begin to come out of dormancy early. They start to grow, and once the tips emerge above the soil line, they are subject to freezing if the temperatures dip back down below freezing. And thats usually what happens. After the bulbs have emerged, they freeze and then dont bloom at all, or if they do its a very sad display.
Another reason this happens is because the bulbs are not planted deep enough. They may have been deep enough when you planted them, but as the soil goes through the freezing and thawing process, the bulbs can actually work their way up in the ground. One way to keep your flower bulbs sleeping longer, which will protect them from freezing, is to mulch the bed.
In the fall just apply a 3-4 layer of well composted mulch. This layer of mulch will do a couple of things. It will maintain a higher moisture content in the soil, which is good as long as the soil isnt too soggy. Well composted mulch also adds valuable organic matter to the planting bed. Organic matter makes a great natural fertilizer.
A 3-4 layer of mulch also acts as an insulator. It will keep the soil from freezing for a while, which is good because you dont want the bulbs going through a series of short cycles of freezing and thawing. Then when the temperatures drop below freezing and stay there for a while, the soil does eventually freeze. Then the mulch actually works in reverse and keeps the soil from thawing out too early. Keeping it in a frozen state is actually good because the bulbs remain dormant for a longer period of time.
When they finally do wake up it is spring time, and hopefully by the time they emerge from the ground the danger of a hard freeze is past and they will not be damaged. If you can keep them from freezing, they will flower beautifully. The extra organic matter will help to nourish the bulbs when they are done blooming, and the cycle starts all over again.
We also plant annual flowers in the same beds with our spring bulbs. By the time the danger of frost is past and its time to plant the annuals, the top of the bulbs have died back and are ready to be removed. The mulch that is added in the fall also helps to nourish the annual flowers, as well as improve the soil permanently. Any time you add well composted organic matter to your planting beds, you are bound to realize multiple benefits. The key words here are well composted. Fresh material is not good.
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Jun
25
Posted under
Flower bulb care
Flower bulbs need a good, long, winters sleep. Like some people we know, if they wake up before they are fully rested they get kind of cranky, and then they dont bloom well at all.
Actually what happens is during a mild winter, the soil stays too warm and the bulbs begin to come out of dormancy early. They start to grow, and once the tips emerge above the soil line, they are subject to freezing if the temperatures dip back down below freezing. And thats usually what happens. After the bulbs have emerged, they freeze and then dont bloom at all, or if they do its a very sad display.
Another reason this happens is because the bulbs are not planted deep enough. They may have been deep enough when you planted them, but as the soil goes through the freezing and thawing process, the bulbs can actually work their way up in the ground. One way to keep your flower bulbs sleeping longer, which will protect them from freezing, is to mulch the bed.
In the fall just apply a 3-4 layer of well composted mulch. This layer of mulch will do a couple of things. It will maintain a higher moisture content in the soil, which is good as long as the soil isnt too soggy. Well composted mulch also adds valuable organic matter to the planting bed. Organic matter makes a great natural fertilizer.
A 3-4 layer of mulch also acts as an insulator. It will keep the soil from freezing for a while, which is good because you dont want the bulbs going through a series of short cycles of freezing and thawing. Then when the temperatures drop below freezing and stay there for a while, the soil does eventually freeze. Then the mulch actually works in reverse and keeps the soil from thawing out too early. Keeping it in a frozen state is actually good because the bulbs remain dormant for a longer period of time.
When they finally do wake up it is spring time, and hopefully by the time they emerge from the ground the danger of a hard freeze is past and they will not be damaged. If you can keep them from freezing, they will flower beautifully. The extra organic matter will help to nourish the bulbs when they are done blooming, and the cycle starts all over again.
We also plant annual flowers in the same beds with our spring bulbs. By the time the danger of frost is past and its time to plant the annuals, the top of the bulbs have died back and are ready to be removed. The mulch that is added in the fall also helps to nourish the annual flowers, as well as improve the soil permanently. Any time you add well composted organic matter to your planting beds, you are bound to realize multiple benefits. The key words here are well composted. Fresh material is not good.
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Feb
07
Posted under
Planting flower bulbs
Flower bulbs can produce some amazing flowers throughout the whole year for little care and effort once planted. This yearly display can start with the earliest flowering bulbs in the spring such as snowdrops and crocus and proceed into winter with bulbs forced indoors to bloom. These you can see available in stores around Christmas time.
For this article we will discuss flower bulbs as being most of the group of flowers that grow from enlarged underground masses that store food over the winter for the plant. In another article we will address the actual differences among all such “bulbs”.
Flower bulbs, if planted in a bed, need a soil that has good drainage. A sandy loam soil is ideal but bulbs will do well in just about anything short of cold clay soil, soggy spots and very rocky ground. Even amongst the rocks you can find pockets to plant some of the smaller flower bulbs. Adding plenty of organic matter always helps your soil as we have mentioned in other articles.
Some expert gardeners suggest a flowerbed where the bulbs will be planted should be prepared to a depth of two feet. This allows you to plant even the largest of bulbs to a good depth. But if the location is a low spot to which all other areas drain, and it holds water, this will not be a good spot to plant your bulbs regardless of how well you prepare the soil. Flower bulbs will readily rot where the soil holds water and is soggy.
Whatever spot you pick be sure it allows your flower bulbs to be in full sun. As most spring-flowering bulbs come up before the trees have their leaves, it may not be as great a concern for them. It is certainly a consideration when planting summer-flowering bulbs. Keep this in mind when planting near evergreens and man-made structures.
Some flower gardeners prefer to use bulbs to “naturalize” an area. To do this, you simply dig a hole big enough and deep enough for the bulb you are planting. You can also dig a hole big enough to hold four or five bulbs at a time. Put a little bulb fertilizer in the hole, place your bulbs in, replace the soil removed and cap with the sod you removed in making the hole.
And lastly the rule of thumb for planting flower bulbs is three times as deep as the bulb is big. You may wish to consider planting some bulbs even deeper. Barbara Damrosch of Theme Gardens fame prefers to plant her bulbs, especially tulips and daffodils, deeper at ten inches. She prefers this to keep them from sprouting in the fall, being worked out of the ground by the freezing and thawing of it, and also to help protect the bulbs from being eaten by animals.
© 2005, Sandra Dinkins-Wilson
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